FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - A group of military men and women are back home in North Texas. More than 50 members of the Air Force Reserve arrived at Fort Worth’s Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base on Thursday to a welcoming crowd, ending a seven-month wait for friends and family members.

The men and women are part of the 301st and 610th Security Forces Squadrons. They have been serving in Saudi Arabia, providing security as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.

“It’s tough, you know, especially with the kids,” said Lena Paulauskas. But, she added, “I support him 100 percent. I’m very, very proud of him. He’s pursuing his dream and his passion, and he wanted to serve his country.”

“This will be the first time that I’ve actually got to see him get off the plane,” said Shawndi Weston before the group arrived on Thursday. “I’m either going to cry like a baby or I’m just going to be just so excited to see him.”

Shawndi has been through several of her husband’s deployments, but this time was a little bit different. “That was my sixth deployment,” said Chris Weston after his arrival, “but my first time being away from the kids and, by far, the hardest. I’m just glad to be back. It’s a pretty special day.”

Chris Weston’s youngest son was only 3 months old when he left earlier this year for Saudi Arabia. “I’m surprised he actually knows me as well as he does. ” Chris said. He kept in touch with his family through FaceTime phone calls online. “It was very hard watching them grow up on the computer. You want to be there to hold them, and you don’t have that opportunity. But it was all worth it after today.”

That seemed to be the sentiment for all families, now that they were reunited. There were a lot of hugs and a lot of kisses to make up for a lot of time spent apart.